PM Medvedev: Endless government dismissal rumors don't bother me

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said he was “unconcerned” by persistent rumors that his government will be dismissed amid slowing economic growth and a failure to implement Vladimir Putin’s pre-election promises.

"The government will surely get dismissed, there's no doubt
about that. It certainly will, it's just the question of time. This
is an issue which will be always stirring our political sphere
while the president and the prime minister represent two different
branches of power," Medvedev said as quoted by Interfax, adding
that there will always be grounds for such rumors as "we live in
the new era."

"Endless talks of the government dismissal don't help... but
as for me they do not bother me because otherwise I would not be
able to work at all," he stressed.

Medvedev, who took charge of the government a year ago, conceded
that the pressure has made it “

more difficult ” for some of
the ministers “

who have not been toughened up as much.” “I’ve told my team, don’t worry, sooner or later you are all
going to lose your jobs. That’s life,” said the former
President on Russian channel NTV.

“But you can still achieve plenty of good if you work well.
And if you wind yourselves up over your job security, our work will
become impossible.”

Russia’s GDP growth forecast was revised downwards to 2.4 percent
for 2013, the smallest increase since the world financial crisis in
2009.

Earlier this month Vladimir Putin scolded the government for
failing to fulfil a series of ambitious plans, issued after his
re-election for a third term in the Kremlin, that have been dubbed
the May Edicts. The plans, formulated for the entire 6-year
presidential term in 2012, charted a series of massive reforms that
would lead to a better standard of living, the creation of a
favorable investment climate, and more efficient governance.

The man responsible for carrying out the Edicts, Vice Premier
Vladislav Surkov (considered an ally of Medvedev) has voluntarily
left his post, which many believe he would have been fired
from.

Medvedev has defended his government, and says that despite
public reproaches, his relationship with Putin has not been
damaged.

“As in the past, relations between me and the President
remain friendly. If it weren’t so, you would have probably had a
different government by now,” said Medvedev.

The media have touted respected former Finance Minister Aleksey
Kudrin as a potential replacement. Kudrin left the government two
years ago, and has since consistently criticized the government for
failing to carry out economic and political reforms, saying that
Russia has entered a period of stagnation. He recently dismissed
the government’s record as “unsatisfactory”, and refused to comment
on whether he would return to the fold.

Experts say that even if he manages to stay in his post,
Medvedev faces a rough ride.

“Considering the current economic situation, there is no way
to carry out the May Edicts, however much the President demands
it,” Aleksey Makarkin, from the Centre of Political
Technologies, told Mail.ru news portal.

“Instead the government will have to take responsibility for
difficult reforms. It is doomed to be an unpopular
government.”

Mikhail Remizov from the Institute of National strategies
believes that the “reins of power are held exclusively by
Vladimir Putin”, and Medvedev is a “technocratic” Prime
Minister, who holds no power of his own.

Remizov believes that Medvedev is likely to preserve his
position, as the Prime Minister is both loyal, and can easily be
made into a scapegoat if the economic situation continues to
worsen.

In the worst case scenarios predicted by economic experts,
Russia could slide into a recession latter part of 2013,
particularly if demand for Russian energy does not increase in
crisis-stricken Europe.